Exodus 36:37

Summary

The verse describes the making of a screen (masakh, H4539) for the entrance of the tent (ha-'ohel, H0168G), constructed from four types of material: violet stuff, purple, scarlet stuff, and twisted fine linen, executed as the work of a skilled colorist.

Key words

• va-yya'as ("and he made", H6213H) — qal narrative verb, third-person, continuing the sequential wayyiqtol chain of the construction account.
• masakh ("a screen", H4539) — masculine singular noun, the specific object produced, distinct from the ha-'ohel ("the tent", H0168G) it covers.
• le-fetach ha-'ohel — construct phrase using fetach ("entrance of", H6607) in construct state with ha-'ohel ("the tent", H0168G), meaning "for the entrance of the tent."
• tola'at shani ("scarlet stuff of scarlet", H8438B + H8144) — tola'at is in construct state, forming a compound term for scarlet material.
• ma'aseh roqem ("work of a worker in colors", H4639G + H7551) — ma'aseh is a construct noun governing roqem, a qal participle describing the craftsman's action; the phrase labels the technique used, not the craftsman as agent of the main verb.

What the text says

The verse follows the wayyiqtol pattern typical of Hebrew narrative sequence: va-yya'as ("and he made", H6213H) picks up the ongoing account of tabernacle construction, with an unstated subject continuing from prior verses. The direct object is masakh ("a screen", H4539), specified by the construct chain le-fetach ha-'ohel — "for the entrance of the tent" — where fetach (H6607) in construct state links to the definite ha-'ohel (H0168G), fixing the object's location and function.

The materials are listed as four nouns joined by ve ("and", H9002): tekhelet ("violet stuff", H8504), 'argaman ("purple", H0713), tola'at shani ("scarlet stuff of scarlet", H8438B construct + H8144), and shesh mashzar ("fine linen", H8336B + H7806, hophal passive participle "twisted"). The hophal form of mashzar indicates the linen underwent a passive process of twisting, describing the material's state rather than an agent's action.

The final phrase, ma'aseh roqem ("work of a worker in colors", H4639G construct + H7551 qal participle), stands appositionally, characterizing the screen's construction technique. Roqem is a participle, "the one doing," used substantively for "colorist" or "embroiderer," but the construct phrase names the type of work, not who performed it — the sentence's grammatical subject of va-yya'as remains unspecified within this verse itself.

Differences between versions

The LXX text supplied here corresponds to a different portion of the tabernacle materials (belts, zonai) rather than the screen for the tent entrance, so a direct lexical comparison with the Hebrew of this verse is not possible from the data given. The Vulgate's opere plumarii ("work of an embroiderer/featherworker") renders ma'aseh roqem with a term evoking feather-like patterning, while the Hebrew roqem (H7551) more generally denotes a participle for one who works in colors or variegated patterns, without the specific "feather" connotation.